May, 2004:

Three times now, I’ve gone outside at my office, only to be tricked by a squirrel. Maybe it’s the same one each time, or maybe they all have magical powers. Or maybe I’m just seeing things.

When I first go out the door, there is a suspended stairwell leading up. To the left of the stairwell is some space. To the right is some space and then open grass (where the squirrels usually are). And, since the staircase is suspended, you can walk underneath it, if you crouch a bit.

I walk out, and go to the right of the staircase, near the grass. And I see a squirrel on the sidewalk. He’s afriad of me, so he darts under the stairwell. I continue to walk further along the right of the staircase, while monitoring the only other exit available to the poor guy. I imagine he’s scared and just wants to leave, and I don’t want to stop him from doing that. So I move as far as away as I can while still being able to see.

The squirrel never leaves. So, eventually, I go back around to the other side of the stairwell to see the very small (3′ x 3′, max) patch of space that I can’t see from the otherside (the portion directly behind the part of the stairwell that touches the ground). He’s not there. He’s not anywhere. He’s gone. But how? There’s no way to leave except going back under the stairwell, where I’d see him clearly. Or by going in the front of the stairwell and then out which would be more difficult for me to see, but, still, he couldn’t actually get out of the this enclosed space and into the grass without me seeing him.

Of course, I guess he could be sneaking around the far corner of the stairwell, and going up the stairs. And I might not see him there for the first 8 steps or so… but, by the time he got the platform I’d surely see him, as I’m standing right next to it and it is as my direct eye level. But I never see him leave, and he’s always gone.

This has happened three times now in the past week or so.

I think there’s something in the water. Either mine, or his.

Jess and I had a good time swimming last night. We played Water Volleyball too, but it was just one-on-one, which isn’t as much fun as a real game. We counted the number of volleys we could do in a row, and only got to 8… once.

Anyone near Plano like Water Volleyball?

(I really need another place to put little stuff like this that no one really cares about except my friends and I. Putting it here really makes this site loose any direction that it might have otherwise appeared to have.)

Last night, CBS ran a 3 hour special on Charles Manson called Helter Skelter. Jess, being a fan of serial killers and especially Charles Manson, really wanted to see it. However, we forgot that it was on and missed it entirely. I guess that’s what happens when your life doesn’t revolve around TV like the majority of Americans.

I’ve been scouring the BitTorrent sites hoping that someone encoded it and is offering it, but I’ve had no luck so far. If any of you know where I can find it, I would be very grateful. And, if someone from CBS is reading this, I promise we’ll watch the commercials too.

We made Pork Pad Thai for dinner: Pork with Pad Thai noodles, and basil in a sweet lime sauce. It was, hands down, one of the best meals I’ve ever made.

My parents are renting a cabin on Possum Kingdom Lake for Memorial Day. I’m taking Friday off and my Dad and Jess and I will get out there early. Then Saturday, we have a pontoon boat for 4 hours. Then Sunday, we’ll head home. I think we’re going to have a great time.

I, however, have a huge aversion to Chlorine. This means I haven’t gone swimming more than three times a summer in the past four or five years. I used to be a great swimmer but, now, I get very tired very easily. So, all this week, Jess and I will be going out to the pool so I can get my swimming muscles back into shape.

This also means I can finally get rid of this horrible trucker’s tan I’ve got going on. Yay for sunshine.

happy faces

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silly love

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After talking Brad and Morgan into leaving Thursday morning, instead of on Wednesday, we met up in Irving Tuesday night for Sushi with Brad’s Mom and Dad, his Sister and Brother-in-Law, as well as Justin and, later, Mike and Rachel. Afterwards, we got coffee at Starbucks and then Brad, Morgan, Justin, Jess and I headed back to our place for a few drinks. We played drinking games, talked a lot and enjoyed eachother’s company. Justin had to work in the morning, so he left early. The rest of us stayed up until sometime after 4am, before going to bed. When I got up in the morning, Brad and Morgan had left.

Later that day, Jess and I drove out to Haltom city, visited with Morgan’s Mom a bit, and then headed back to Brad’s parents house for pizza and then, later, Krispy Kreme.

Back to work on Thursday.

More work on Friday.

Friday night Jess and I went to Deep Ellum for coffee and pictures. Nothing too exciting.

Saturday we decided to take a Dart Rail adventure. We drove to Parker Station and took the Dart Rail into Uptown. Ate a nice lunch, then went to Mockingbird Station for coffee. Then, back to Parker Station. I love riding the Dart Rail. You meet so many interesting people that you would never have a chance to meet otherwise. It’s fun to just watch people interact with one another, especially when the train is over-crowded.

After getting back to Parker Station, Jess and I drove to Addison to meet my parents at the “Taste of Addison”. I had been before in previous years, but this year wasn’t much fun at all. Way too crowded, everything was overpriced, and it didn’t have the same feel as the other times I went. Regardless, we always have a good time with my parents, and this was no exception. My Dad and I took pictures until it got too dark, while Jess and my Mom looked at what there was to see. Afterwards, we went to Fuddruckers for dinner.

After dinner, Jess and I went home to pick up some alcohol, and then headed to Rob and Vicky’s for a Karaoke party. I invited my parents, but they were too tired and decided to head back home.

Rob and Vicky’s was fun. Mike, Rachel and Derek showed up eventually, adding to the good times. Rachel and Jess had a lot of fun being catty women poking fun at the one piece of white trash running around without a shirt on. Let me clarify this a bit: there’s nothing wrong with running around with your shirt off at a party. The guys, especially, enjoy it, and, if you don’t have a problem with it, than that’s great. But, this girl was just trashy enough that being shirt-less only added to the list of things to laugh at her for. All in all, a good time. Jess got sleepy around 2:30am and, despite the fact that I could have stayed a lot longer, we went home. I thought about going back after dropping her off, but changed my mind because I didn’t want to drive all the way back only to spend an hour or so there and then come all the way home again.

And now, it’s Sunday. I’m not sure what we’re doing today.

Sorry for the sparse updates. Things have been a bit hectic. I’m hoping to get back on a more regular schedule soon… but don’t count on it.

Wednesday night, “while at the drum jam”:http://revjim.net/item/10025/ at the Across the Street Bar, I had a little bit to drink. In my usual life, that would be all I would drink (with the exception of a glass of wine with dinner) for the next couple of months. But this last week has been far from usual for me.

On Thursday, I had a few beers at the “Great Big Sea”:http://greatbigsea.ca/ and “Carbon Leaf”:http://www.carbonleaf.com/ show that I surprised Jess with. Great Big Sea, by the way, is fantastic and even better live. I had never heard of Carbon Leaf before Thursday, but I really enjoyed their show. They are very talented and energetic performers and surely worth checking out if you’re interested in finding new music to listen to. Going out to two bars/clubs in the same week is certainly not something I do very often any more.

Then, on Friday, we “went out to see some old friends”:http://revjim.net/item/10026/ and ended up at a party which, of course, meant even more drinking. Parties are fun, especially when the people there are such fun people and such good friends and it’s been quite some time since I’ve been to a party at all.

Saturday night, we played cards with my parents over too many glasses of wine. I love my family and we always enjoy ourselves when we spend time with them. The drinking wasn’t planned, but certainly made the evening even more interesting. We play cards a lot, but we rarely drink that much wine.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and we had a great time. Afterwards, we met up with Brad:http://livejournal.com/~sn0wcr4sh/ and “Morgan”:http://livejournal.com/users/s1m0n/. They came into town as a “surprise Mother’s Day”:http://s1m0n.livejournal.com/377269.html?mode=reply gift for their parents (and since their parents sometimes read this, I haven’t mentioned it until now). They came back to our place. Amongst the four of us, we opened and finished a huge bottle of Parrot Bay. Of course, time spent with them is always well spent. And this was no exception. I think it’s enough to say, here, that we had a lot of fun remembering why we love our friends so dearly and finding many new reasons to love them even more. When 3am rolled around they were certainly too intoxicated and tired to drive home so they spent the night at our place.

I took a Personal Day on Monday. We drove them back to their parents house, had breakfast, and then spent the day putting the finishing touches on Brad’s Honda Civic engine replacement. Then we had dinner at Mercado Juarez and drove home.

I’m not sure what’s happening tonight, but I’m sure they’ll be involved some how. They’re heading back to Indiana Thursday morning.

So, while my life has certainly been anything but normal this past week, I can’t say I’ve minded at all, though I am very tired. I guess that’s a sign that I’m either getting too old, or I’m doing doing this often enough.

I had a great time Friday night. I saw a lot of good friends, a lot of old friends, and met a few new people.

Jess and I went out to Julie’s apartment. Mike and Lisa were there. Nick showed up later on. We talked. We drank. We went out for margaritas. We came back. We drank some more. We went to a party in Euless. Lots of old friends there. We didn’t finally get to bed until around 3am.

I really miss these friends. I know I say this almost every time I see them, but it’s true. My friends are great people, and they are a lot of fun to just be around. I wish I saw them more often. I’ve said this before but, I’m going to try to make sure that I don’t go so long in between visits next time.

Last night Jess and I went to my parents house to have dinner, play cards, and drink wine. Again, we had a wonderful time. My parents are great people and I feel incredibly lucky to have them, not only as parents, but as friends. We usually play poker, or spades. Last night was spades. My mom and I are always one team, and Jess and my dad are the other. We played two games. We lost the first one — bad. Read bad. 516 to 74. However, we won the second game by about 100 points. It’s been a while since we won, so that was nice.

We sent my mom in New York some tulips (that wont be there until Monday) and picture of Jess and I for mother’s day. Friday, on my way home from work she called Jess to thank her for sending it. During this call she mentioned to Jess that my life was a wreck before she came along. She said that I wasn’t as bad as my brother, David, but pretty close and that she was grateful that Jess has straightened my life out and given me clear direction. Now, I don’t deny that Jess has been the best thing for me… ever. And I certianly don’t deny that my life is less complicated with her than it ever was without her. I can’t imagine life without her. However, before her, my life was hardly a wreck. I was doing well, making good money, paying most of my bills on time, and headed in a good direction, career-wise. Sometimes, my mom just talks to talk, and she doesn’t even understand what she’s saying. She’s crazy that way.

Today is mother’s day. Jess and I will be going to Keller to see my mom around noon. We’ll have dinner and goof off for a bit. In my usual manner, I neglected attempting to buy her gift until yesterday. I decided on a Cokin “P” series filter holder, adapter ring, and 2 filters (diffusion 1 and ND gradient 2) for her camera. Unfortunately, as I found out yesterday, Cokin “P” series filter holders aren’t easy to come by. Lots of places had the filters and the rings, but not the holders. So… I’m going to have to give her an IOU and order the items online. She’ll understand. It’s typical of me to work this way.

Last night I went to the Across the Street Bar drum circle with a few friends and Jess. It has been so long since I’ve drummed and it really felt good. I didn’t do very well but I’m sure a large part of that is due to my need to get back into it. I took a few pictures, though I’m not sure if any of them came out. It was very dark and I was shooting handheld. I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet.

I really enjoy just walking around and talking to people who are in the same frame of mind. It’s much different than going to a party full of people you don’t know where your crammed in there chest to chest. I like being able to walk around, meet new people and have a few drinks. When Justin and I realized we were out of cigarettes and the bar didn’t sell any, I walked across the street to another bar to use their cigarette machine. This place was packed. Loud music. Guys hitting on girls. Girls all dressed up and wearing enough makeup to conceal any glimpse of beauty they might have had. I was very glad to go back across the street.

Jess didn’t really have a good time. She’s not really the type to walk up and talk to people she doesn’t know. She’s fine with people walking up to her, but she usually wont initiate conversation. And, for the most part, she wont follow me around and let me introduce her to people because, I’m usually drinking. And, if I’m drinking, I’m smoking. And she can’t stand to be around me when I’m smoking (it sounds like I’m reciting that horrible country song).

I hope to make going to the drum circles more of a habit. Only next time, I think Jess’ll probably want to stay home.